


sleep without you

by helsinkibaby



Series: Right Beside Me Around Every Turn [9]
Category: The Flying Doctors
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 15:49:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12987324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Tom can't sleep. Bribery ensues.





	sleep without you

**Author's Note:**

> for gen prompt bingo, prompt "home cooking"
> 
> Title from the Brett Young song of the same name which has nothing to do with this story, but anyway.

Tom tries to sleep. 

Really, he does. But after tossing and turning for two hours, getting up and using the bathroom, then tossing and turning for another hour, he glances at the clock and, seeing two in the morning, decides to hell with it. Getting up, he dresses quickly, grabbing yesterday's trousers from the floor where he'd let them fall but having the forethought to grab a clean shirt from the wardrobe, something to do with plausible deniability. On his way out he pauses at the kitchen door and, on impulse, goes to the larder, finds proof that Chris has been trying to keep busy in the form of a very impressive Victoria sponge cake - it was Violet Carnegie's recipe and the day she'd announced that Chris's tasted almost as good as hers still ranked pretty high up there in Chris's list of the best days ever. He cuts a generous slice, wraps it up in tin foil and without further ado, drives to the hospital. 

The lone nurse on night duty, Annie, a young blonde slip of a thing with a ready smile who Tom can't quite believe he just thought of in those terms, looks up when she hears his footsteps, narrows her eyes when she sees who it is. "Doctor Callaghan, you're not supposed to be here," she admonishes. 

Which is perfectly true, and Tom doesn't even try to pretend that he's there as a doctor. "I brought you a present," he says, holding out the tin foil parcel, carefully pulling down one corner. The aroma of the cake makes his mouth water and from the way Annie's eyes brighten, she feels the same way. 

"Doctor Callaghan, is this a bribe?" 

Tom looks her right in the eyes. "Yes. Yes it is." He turns on the charm as he speaks - it's not the first time he's done it to a nurse at this hospital, and he's done it for far less than this. Laying the cake on the counter between them, he lifts both eyebrows, gives her a hopeful look. 

She purses her lips, considering, then she grabs the tin foil and pulls it towards her. "I won't tell a soul," she says and he gives her a quick grin before he makes his way down the hallway to Chris's room. 

Sure she's going to be asleep, he pushes open the door slowly, careful to make as little noise as possible. He all but tiptoes in but it's still evidently too noisy because he hears Chris inhale deeply and when he looks at her, her eyes are wide open. 

"Tom?" She keeps her voice down to a whisper. "What are you doing here? What time is it?" 

He answers her second question first but "Late," is all the answer he gives her as he closes the door firmly behind him. Crossing to the bed, he sits down on the edge of it, takes hold of one of her hands in both of his. "How are you feeling?" 

She gives him the tiniest, tremulous smile. "Better now," she says and he chuckles as he brings her hand to his lips. 

"You look better," he decides, his eyes roaming over every inch of the face that he knows so well. "Not so pale." He brushes the back of his knuckles across her cheek, glad to feel some warmth there. A glance at the heart monitor beside the bed shows that her heart rhythm is normal and steady, something that has him breathing an inward sigh of relief. He doesn't look at it for too long though, preferring to stare at Chris. 

Who is narrowing her eyes at him and that's not part of the script. Nor is the accusation with which she says, "I thought I told you to go home and get some rest?" 

Tom sighs, bringing his hand back to their joined ones again. He should have known that her first thought was going to be for him rather than herself. "I tried, Chris, really, I did." He keeps his voice light, or he attempts to anyway. He's pretty sure he doesn't succeed. "But it appears I can't sleep alone anymore." She rolls her eyes at that but she's smiling and he presses his advantage. "Don't look at me like that... if you weren't so damned irresistible, I could be at home asleep right now. But no, you are, so here I am." 

His pretend indignation made clear, she slides her hand up his arm, lets it come to rest at his elbow. "So, what," she asks softly, "you're going to sleep in an armchair?" 

Tom pretends to consider it. "Oh, I think we can do better than that," he tells her. Before she can ask any questions, he stands, toes off his shoes. "Come on, budge up," he orders, lifting the corner of her blankets and the little giggle she gives as she shifts over is music to his ears. 

It takes a little bit of shuffling and pulling and dragging and there's a moment where he thinks he's going to upend the bed altogether, but after a couple of minutes, they succeed in arranging themselves so that he's lying on his back with Chris in his arms. She's lying mostly on top of him, her head on his shoulder and he drops a kiss to her forehead before resting his chin on the top of her head. "See?" he says, tracing a lazy path up and down her back. "Just like home." 

Chris nuzzles into his chest and he feels a shiver run the length of her body. "Just don't go getting all amorous on me," she warns him. "If you make my heart monitor go crazy, someone's going to come running in here." 

"You mean Annie?" he asks and she lifts her head to stare at him, her entire face a question mark. "Let's just say we have an understanding." 

"Tom." She manages to put at least three syllables into his name. "Don't tell me you've been charming the nurses again." 

He shifts a little uncomfortably, even though he knows she's teasing. "Just this once," he admits. "For a good cause." 

Chris sighs but she doesn't seem unhappy about it. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Well, there's nothing else for it, Chris." His fingers are idly tracing her shoulder now. "You'll just have to keep loving me." 

There's another sigh, far more theatrical this time. "If I must." 

Suddenly serious, Tom kisses the top of her head, the import of where they are, what they're facing, settling over him anew. "You must," he whispers into her hair and her fingers clench into the material of his shirt. "Go to sleep," he whispers, kissing her hair and she nuzzles into him again, for once, not giving him   
a hard time and doing as he's said. 

It takes Tom a little longer to join her but not much.


End file.
